Install xleak with Homebrew, Nix, winget

Project links

• Homepage
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• xleak

Project history

The upstream README presents xleak as a fast terminal Excel viewer inspired by doxx. It combines formatted table rendering, an interactive ratatui interface, multi-sheet navigation, full-text search, formula display, clipboard support, named-table extraction, lazy loading for larger sheets, and export to CSV, JSON, or plain text.

The public release announcement for v0.1.0 described the same core goal: view and interact with Excel files directly in a terminal, with support for `.xlsx`, `.xls`, `.xlsm`, `.xlsb`, and `.ods`, backed by Rust spreadsheet and terminal libraries.

Adoption history

xleak's adoption evidence is modest and early. It reached terminal-tool audiences through GitHub, Rust and command-line community posts, and terminal software directories; those sources frame it as a focused utility for developers or data workers who need to inspect spreadsheets on remote, headless, or keyboard-driven systems.

How it is used

Typical use is opening a workbook in the TUI, moving between cells with the keyboard, switching sheets with Tab and Shift-Tab, searching with `/`, inspecting cell details or formulas, copying values, and exporting a sheet or table to machine-readable text formats.

It is most useful for quick inspection and extraction, not for spreadsheet editing. The README positions it as a no-Excel-required viewer rather than a replacement for full spreadsheet applications.

Why package nerds care

xleak is interesting to package nerds because it is part of the modern Rust TUI wave: a single-purpose command that wraps a parser library and terminal UI stack into a polished inspection tool.

Its niche is also practical for package repositories: spreadsheet files are common in bug reports, data drops, and operational work, but GUI spreadsheet applications are awkward on servers and CI systems.

Timeline

• 2025: Public v0.1.0 announcement introduced xleak as a Rust terminal spreadsheet viewer.
• 2025-2026: The README documents a broader TUI feature set, including multi-sheet navigation, formulas, clipboard support, lazy loading, and export formats.

Related projects

• doxx is the project cited by xleak as inspiration. calamine provides spreadsheet parsing, ratatui provides the terminal UI framework, crossterm handles terminal interaction, and arboard provides clipboard support. Neighboring user-facing tools include VisiData and other terminal table viewers.

Sources

• https://crates.io/crates/xleak
• https://github.com/bgreenwell/xleak
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bgreenwell/xleak/main/README.md
• https://terminaltrove.com/xleak/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/commandline/comments/1ouz0lc/xleak_a_fast_terminal_excel_viewer_with_an/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/rust/comments/1os894p/xleak_terminal_excel_viewer_with_interactive_tui/